Heijmans prepares for possible impact Covid-19: withdraws dividend proposal
26 March 2020 - 5:30PM
Heijmans prepares for possible impact Covid-19: withdraws dividend
proposal
Heijmans has revised its decision to pay a dividend on
the 2019 results. In view of the uncertain outlook for the results
in 2020, the company is withdrawing its dividend
proposal.
Heijmans got off to a good start in 2020. To date, revenue and
results have been in line with expectations. The order book also
remains at a good level and we have not yet used the committed bank
facility this year. The financial impact of the Covid-19 crisis is
still limited for Heijmans at the moment; the work on our various
construction projects is largely continuing. However, Heijmans
expects the consequences of the far-reaching government measures to
be felt in the coming weeks. The closing of some European borders,
the partial loss of foreign employees and the stagnating supply of
materials will have an impact on productivity. As a result, the
outlook for 2020 in terms of revenue and results is extremely
uncertain at the moment. Heijmans cannot therefore provide an
outlook for the remainder of the year.
In view of the above, Heijmans believes the most prudent course
of action is to withdraw the dividend proposal; item 4C on the
agenda of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of 15 April
2020, which deals with the dividend on (depositary receipts for)
ordinary shares.
Ton Hillen, CEO Heijmans: “We started 2020 well
in all our sectors and our order portfolio remains well filled. Our
people are performing remarkably well to continue as much of our
construction activities as possible in these difficult conditions,
taking into account all health and safety measures. They have
managed to do this well over the past few weeks, but we cannot
predict how the situation will develop in the coming months.
Withdrawing the dividend proposal is an unpleasant measure,
especially as we had proposed to resume dividend payments after a
difficult period for our company. We have substantially
strengthened our balance sheet and it is of the utmost importance
that we keep it at a robust level. The main lesson I have learned
from our own crisis years 2016-2017 is that is essential to take
action early. At this moment, we simply do not have sufficient
insight into how long and to what extent the Covid-19 virus will
have an impact on our company. I do not want to wait and see until
we know. I would rather take measures proactively to arm ourselves
against this impact. In that light, a dividend payment would now be
premature. We will assess whether we can revise this measure later
in the year.”
The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will still take place
on 15 April 2020. Heijmans published a separate
announcement on its website - www.heijmans.nl/en - regarding the
measures taken to ensure the meeting can take place safely.
About Heijmans Heijmans is a listed company
that combines activities related to property development,
construction & technical services and infrastructure in the
fields of Living, Working and Connecting. We create added value for
our clients by focusing on continuous quality improvement,
innovation and an integrated approach. Heijmans realizes projects
for home buyers, companies and government entities and, together
with them, builds on the spatial contours of tomorrow. For
additional information, please visit www.heijmans.nl.
For additional information/not for publication:
Media and analystsGuido PetersInvestor
Relations+31 73 543 52 17gpeters@heijmans.nl
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